1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to using an Internet protocol (IP) network of a telecommunications service provider to provide virtual private network (VPN) functionality among local area networks (LANs).
2. Acronyms
The written description provided herein contains acronyms which refer to various telecommunications services, components and techniques, as well as features relating to the present invention. Although some of these acronyms are known, use of these acronyms is not strictly standardized in the art. For purposes of the written description herein, the acronyms are defined as follows:                Address Resolution Protocol (ARP)        Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)        Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)        Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM)        Internet Protocol (IP)        Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4)        Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)        Internet Service Provider (ISP)        Local Area Network (LAN)        Media Access Control (MAC)        Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS)        Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)        Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)        Request for Comment (RFC)        Telecommunications Service Provider (TSP)        Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)        User Datagram Protocol (UDP)        Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)        Virtual Private Network (VPN)        Wide Area Network (WAN)        
3. Background and Material Information
A virtual private network (VPN) is a non-public network that runs over a shared network infrastructure, such as the public Internet. A VPN enables interconnection among distinct networks, including local area networks (LANs), and other end-systems over a wide area network (WAN). The VPN provides security to the extent that it recognizes and transports only data associated with end-systems that are part of the network.
A virtual local area network (VLAN) provides logical grouping and networking of various customer end-systems, such as work stations, user devices, private networks, and the like, as though they are grouped on the same physical LAN. In other words, the VLAN associates end-systems based on criteria other than the physical location of the end-systems. For example, the VLAN can provide network services to a customer having multiple geographic locations, or to a department within a customer organization remotely located throughout a campus environment.
A VLAN VPN implemented over a WAN is provided by a telecommunications service provider (TSP) to interconnect the LANs as if they were one. Typically, TSPs rely on network connections to provide customers VPN service, including multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) paths, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) circuits and point-to-point protocol (PPP) connections. However, connection oriented implementations inhibit efficient execution of VPN services and have limited scalability, as well as flexibility.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art, as described below.